Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
 
Saturday’s Volleyball Results
Delaware 3, Kent State 0
Toledo 3, Merrimack 1
Miami 3, Norfolk State 1
FAU 3, Ball State 0
Ohio 3, App State 2
Eastern Michigan 3, Valparaiso, 1
Central Michigan 3, Bellarmine 0
Liberty 3, Akron 1
Buffalo 3, Hampton 0
Illinois 3, Bowling Green 0
Western Michigan 3, Loyola Chicago 1
Wright State 3, Ohio 0
 
Toledo 3, Merrimack 1 | Box Score
The Toledo women's volleyball team defeated Merrimack 3-1 (25-11, 24-26, 25-20, 25-20) in the final day of action at the Binghamton Bearcat Classic in Vestal, N.Y. Saturday afternoon. The victory completed a three-game sweep for the Rockets in the tournament, moving their record to 3-0 on the season.

The Rockets tallied 17 service aces as a squad, the most in a match since Sept. 21, 2019, when they aced 18 against North Alabama. Toledo recorded seven of its 17 aces in the first set.

Taylor Alt paced the Rockets offense, totaling 11 kills and setting a career-high with six service aces. Sierra Pertzborn recorded nine kills while Emily Honzelka followed behind with eight terminations. 

Grace Freiberger led the team in digs with 14 and poured in four service aces, both career-bests for the freshman. Izzy Granger added nine digs and four aces. 

Macy Hatkevich recorded a team-high 16 assists while Ella Abraham had 11 assists with nine digs. 
 
Miami 3, Norfolk State 1 | Box Score
The Miami University volleyball team (3-0) defeated Norfolk State (2-1) in a four-set match (20-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-11) on Saturday afternoon to win the Norfolk State Tournament. Ava Francis, Ana Vetter, and Chelsea Williams each recorded 10 kills to propel Miami's offensive efforts. Vetter also added five service aces to lead all players in the match.

Redshirt junior outside hitter Francis was named the Norfolk State Tournament MVP. She finished with 33 kills, an average of 3.30 per set, and contributed four blocks. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by redshirt sophomore libero Anna McClure, who totaled 41 digs (4.10 per set) and added nine assists.

NOTES:

• Hanson (four) and Hicks (three) each tied their career highs in service aces.
• Lydia Michelin led all RedHawks with four blocks.
• Vetter set a career-high in kills and service aces.

 
Ohio 3, App State 2 | Box Score
The Ohio volleyball team (2-1, 0-0 MAC) split the second day of the Bobcat Invitational with a 3 -2 win against Appalachian State (1-2, 0-0 SBC)  (25-22, 26-24, 25-23, 25-28) and a 3-0 loss (25-16, 25-16, 28-26) against Wright State (3-0,0-0 Horizon) on Saturday, Aug. 31.

Junior Anna Kharchynska (Kyiv, Ukraine) and sophomore Kam Hunt (Sylvania, Ohio) were selected as tournament All-Stars for Ohio.

Individually, the Bobcats were led by Kharchynska who tallied a game-high 19 kills with a .341 hit percentage and tallied seven blocks. Hunt had 16 kills with a .371 hit percentage and six digs. Sophomore Kendall Hickey (Fishers, Ind.) led the Bobcats with 17 digs. Sophomore Emily Waddell (Zionsville, Ind.) led the game in blocks with eight and recorded five kills. 

Eastern Michigan 3, Valparaiso 1 | Box Score
After falling in the first set, the Eastern Michigan University Volleyball team won three consecutive sets to capture its second consecutive victory in the young 2024 season, besting Valparaiso University, 3-1, in its final game of the Hampton Inn Invitational, hosted by Indiana University-Indianapolis, Saturday, Aug. 31.

Kendal Bonney led the Eagles offensively with 12 kills and 14.5 points. She was aided by Kaili Doctor who posted 11 kills off a .409 hitting percentage.

Ella Voorhees led with 24 assists, while Hannah Blaney and Angel Baylark spearheaded the defense. Blaney tabbed 22 digs and Baylark added 11 block assists with one solo block.

Match Notes
» Eastern out-hit the Beacons, .269 to .078. This instance marks the eighth time Eastern has done so under Foeman, it is now 6-2 in such games. Moreover, its .269 hitting percentage is the best under him and marks the second time Eastern has achieved a percentage better than .250 since the start of the 2023 season. EMU last did so against Bradley, hitting .255 in a four-set loss, on Aug. 26. 2023.
» Maddie Stayer totaled 16 helpers in the match, tying a career-best and marking her most as an Eagle. She has registered double-digit assist outings in all three matches this season.  
 » Voorhees secured her third straight double-double of the season with 24 assists and 16 digs. Her digs tie a career-best she set Friday night in a win over IU-Indy, on Aug. 30.  
» Blaney notched her third consecutive match with 10 or more digs. She led the Eagles in the state in the win with 22.
» Bonney matched a career-best 12 kills. She has now collected consecutive matches with double-digit kills for the first time in her career.
» Baylark tied a career-best in block assists as she assisted on 11 in the match. They led an Eastern team that dominated at the net with 21 blocks to five. 
 
Central Michigan 3, Bellarmine 0 | Box Score
The Chippewa Volleyball team swept the Bellarmine Knights in their final game of the Linda Herman Classic, hosted by Illinois State. CMU leaves Illinois with three wins, opening their season with the best record since 2019 when the team started 5-0. The Chippewas won their sets 25-10, 25-12 and 25-15.

Natalia Rejment, who was named Linda Herman Classic Tournament MVP charted 38 kills on the weekend, hitting .352. Rejment missed the 2023 season from an attacking standpoint due to injury and has come back to her junior campaign ready to assert her dominance

Three total members of the Chippewa squad earned All-Tournament nods for the Linda Herman Classic, Natalia Rejment (MVP), Maddy Gebhart, and Hannah Langton.

Gebahrdt killed 29 balls on the weekend, charted five total blocks, and scored 37 points for the Chippewas. In her debut weekend, Langton showed up defensively as she dug 64 balls (5.33/set) with 19 assists.
 
Buffalo 3, Hampton 0 | Box Score
The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (2-0, 0-0 MAC) defeated the Hampton Pirates (0-2, 0-0 CAA) on Saturday evening, 3-0. The Bulls have started 2-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Katrin Trebichavska led the Bulls offensively with 21 kills, five aces, and 26.0 points. She earned her second double-double of the season as she added 10 digs on the evening. Through just two matches, Trebichavska is up to nine service aces.

Freshman Emma Converse has started her collegiate career off strong as she totaled 11 kills, one ace, five digs, and 12.0 points. Maria Futey led the Bulls with 18 digs. Defensively, Tehya Shaw had a career-high three solo blocks. Redshirt freshman Ava Roodbol saw her first collegiate action and recorded 38 assists.

The Bulls tested their depth on the roster as they started three freshmen on the night. Luli Arcucci secured her first collegiate kill early in the match to put the Bulls up 2-0. The Bulls sustained a healthy lead throughout the set to take it, 25-19. Trebichavska had six kills in the set.

The Bulls blew the Pirates out in the second set, 25-17. The Bulls led wire-to-wire in the set as they outhit Hampton, .273 to .033. Buffalo totaled 16 kills to the Pirates' five.

Western Michigan 3, Loyola Chicago 1 | Box Score
The Western Michigan volleyball team had four players tally double-digit kills, and Logan Case recorded her first double-double of the season in Saturday night's 3-1 victory (25-22, 23-25, 25-18, 25-15) over Loyola Chicago at University Arena. The win was WMU's 19th in a row on its home floor.

Case's double-double came via 48 assists and 10 digs, the first double-double by a WMU player in 2024. Her distribution set up four teammates for double-digit kills, led by Mary Clare Brusek's 17, which came on a .552 hitting percentage (17-1-29). Julia Marr (12), Anna Calcagno (11) and Keona Salesman (11) joined Brusek in double-figures for the Brown and Gold.
 
Western Michigan's serving proved to be a weapon as well, as the team recorded 10 service aces to just one for the Ramblers. Reeghan Boyer delivered a career-high six aces, while Elana Erickson tallied three.
 
On the defensive side, Andelyn Simkins collected a team-high 24 digs, while Boyer also racked up double-digit digs for the second straight match, totaling 14. Brusek and Calcagno tied for the team lead with four blocks apiece.